Katherine Reay: Lizzy and Jane

By K. L. Bridgewater

Newly published writer, Katherine Reay, finished her second novel, Lizzy and Jane. The story comes after her highly anticipated book, Dear Mr. Knightley, which is a remake of Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster. There are many similarities and differences between the two plots, but I’m going to stick to three of them to strengthen my review of Lizzy and Jane

1.)    Organization:

Dear Mr. Knightley was written in letter form like Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis or Pamela by Samuel Richardson. The story flowed from the writings of Sam, the protagonist as she used a scholarship from a mysterious supporter. The only stipulation was that she has to continue writing Mr. Knightley, so he could watch her progress at this graduate school of journalism.  On the other hand, Lizzy and Jane was told in a straight narrative. We watch the action as it occurs, not later. Lizzy left her restaurant to help her sister, Jane, who battles cancer. Lizzy tries to forgive her sister and make her comfortable by cooking food her sister might be able to eat.

2.)    Character Names:

In Dear Mr. Knightley, Sam quoted Jane Eyre and a multitude of Jane Austen when she was nervous or wanted to make a point about something. Jane Austen made an appearance throughout the book. However, in Lizzy and Jane, Lizzy was named after Elizabeth Bennett in Austen’s most popular book, Pride and Prejudice, while Jane is named after Jane in the same book. Lizzy tries to think of food that Jane Austen’s characters would have eaten, which she uses to help her sister eat.

3.)    Path in Life:

Both of the protagonist, Sam and Lizzy, have no direction in life. Sam believes she wants to be a journalist because she has been told she writes well, however, when attending her first graduate newspaper classes with Professor Johnson, she doubts her chosen profession. In comparison, Lizzy has the desire and mind of a great chef, but Paul, who gave her the money to buy the restaurant, hired another chef for color and to attract more customers. Both girls, by the end of their respective books, have found their paths for their life and the men to share in their journey.

I truly enjoyed Reay’s first book, Dear Mr. Knightley, but the second book, Lizzy and Jane was not as entertaining. The character of Lizzy seems to only think about cooking in order to move along with her sister. Yes, she does try to think of ways to help her sister eat, but she does not confront her sister until toward the end of the book. Being that close to your sister who hurt you, I believe she would have said something earlier, even if it was a snide remark in passing.

The plot moved very, very slowly. Lizzy took tons of trips to the grocery stores, and as a reader, we got tons of description of the food she bought. I understand she was a chef, but come on already, is that all we need to know about her. We learn nothing about Lizzy as a character, just a chef.

I personally did not like Lizzy and Jane as much as Dear Mr. Knightley. I couldn’t wait to turn the pages in Dear Mr. Knightley as I watched Sam struggle through her life, but Lizzy in Lizzy and Jane was not a sympathetic character. I was bored by her. She was too one-dimensional with no personality.

I received a free digital copy of this book from Thomas Nelson, and the opinions stated are all my own.

Irene Hannon: Deceived

By K. L. Bridgewater

I picked up Irene Hannon’s book, Against All Odds, because of the cover’s design and the book genre. The cover featured two people, a male and a female, above the fold of the title with a SUV traveling up a driveway to a house. The book fits in the romantic suspense genre, which as we all know, I love. So I slipped the back under the crook of my arm and purchased it at the checkout.

Ever since that day a couple of years ago, I have read every single one of Irene Hannon’s book, including her contemporary romance books. No disappointment. She is a great writer with a great eye for detail.

When Revell publishing sent me the link for the books I could review for October, I took a deep breath as I saw Deceived on the list of books. I own the first two books in the series, Vanished and Trapped, which I love.

Irene Hannon does a great job at creating characters with real life flaws. They are not picture perfect with steady wealthy incomes and flashy cars. Her characters live in condos and usually work ten plus hours a day.  I loved how Hannon created Conner as the hero. He was mentioned in the first two books, but I couldn’t wait for this book to flush him out as a character. Conner was sweet, patient, and willing to even clean up Kate’s throw-up. He knew right from their first encounter that he wanted to push their relationship. Kate even felt something toward Conner, which she has not felt since the death of her husband. I don’t disagree with her. Conner was a great guy.  Hannon made him believable, and a true hero worth pining after.

The characters run into each other because of some strange incident which draws the suspense and intrigue of the plot. Hannon does a good job at keeping me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t wait to see why Greg Sanders took “Kevin” from his parents. I wanted to know how “Kevin” survived the attack on his father. The twists in the plot were woven together by a master storyteller. I finished the entire four hundred page book in two days and can’t wait to read her next book, Buried Secrets, coming out in Spring 2015.

Another great book by an extremely talented writer!

I received a free copy from Revell publishing in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lynette Eason's: Nowhere to Turn

By K. L. Bridgewater

As an avid fan of mysteries, one of my favorite romantic suspense writers is Lynette Eason. I had the privelage of meeting her last February when I attended the Writer’s Advance Boot Camp in Asheville, North Carolina. She taught two classes, one on synopsis writing and the other on writing suspense. After seeing her exit the restroom, I walked up to her and asked if she would autograph one of my books. She smiled and said, “Certainly, I would be honored to.” I pulled out her book, Too Close to Home. Then we continued to talk. Lynette asked me what I wrote, romantic suspense, and how long I have been writing, 16 years. We kept on talking until the next class started. Before leaving, she told me to sign up for one of her mentor slots. I did.

The next day, I was nervous as went into her discussion, but I shouldn’t have been. Lynette was sweet and approachable. She read the first couple of pages of my manuscript, Missing. She hinted at some suggestions to make the story better then asked me to send her the first chapter, so she could spend more time on it at home. The rest of the story is history.

But today, I’m going to review Lynette Eason’s latest book, Nowhere to Turn. I was so excited when Revell sent out the email for the books to review for August, and Lynette’s book was on the list. I knew I would buy it anyways, but I was excited to have it before it left the stores and create a buzz about her writing.

This book features Dani Harding, an abused woman with her deaf twelve-year-old son, Simon. They are afraid of their father, Kurt, an FBI agent. As the story begins, Dani is packing up to leave him as he leaves to attend a conference. From the first page to the last, Lynette does a good job at creating suspenseful moments. Moments where the reader wants to keep flipping the pages because they don’t know how Dani and Simon are going to escape their destruction. Enters Adam, an employee of Operation Refuge, a tall handsome former cop who protects Dani and works on learning sign language, so he can communicate with Simon.

Just like all of Lynette’s books, her plots are well woven together that, as a reader, I have a hard time putting the book down to do other things. There are hidden people creeping under a boat, someone sneaking through the house, car chases, and many more high tension moments.

I love Lynette Eason’s books, and I give this one another five stars. Trust me. Lynette surprises us with who the real mastermind is. Even me, who usually figures out who the antagonist is before the end of the book, didn’t figure it out. She threw in a couple of twists to shake up the writer. I enjoyed it.

If you have read Lynette Eason’s books, which one is your favorite? What is your favorite part about mysteries or romantic suspense in general?

I received a complimentary copy of Nowhere to Turn from Revell publishing and all my opinions are my own.

Elizabeth Camden: With Every Breath Giveaway

By K. L. Bridgewater

I recently have started reading a lot of historical fiction for different publishing companies and a number of published friends who have asked me to read and review their books. I have started to respect why authors and fans alike enjoy reading about another time period. With Sarah Sundin’s book, who I reviewed on August 12^th, I travel in an airplane high above Italy during World War II. With Dawn Crandall, who I reviewed on August 5^th, I visit with the wealthy of the Gilded Age during the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts.

My latest review is With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden, I traveled to the 1890’s, which is the same era of Dawn Crandall’s book, but I visit Washington D.C. instead of Boston. I lived in a boarding house with Senators and Congressman who loved the privacy and good cooking of Kate Livingston’s mother. While traveling with Kate on her day-to-day task, I visited a hospital where I ran into Trevor McDonough or Trevor Kendall, as he has changed his name since high school.

However, on the hospital runs, I learn a lot about tuberculosis, which didn’t have a cure until 1940’s, but the experiments the character of Trevor Kendall did on the terminal patients proved effective in the long run. For instance, he made them experience more fresh air. He even went as far as to allow them to bake in the sun. He performed a variety of different medicines to see the results like mercury. Not that Trevor was some quack doctor who wanted to watch his patients squirm. He wanted to see if any of this theories would make the almost dead patients better.

Camden created a believable world in a hospital downtown Washington D.C. Trevor and Kate feuded and created such a deep sense of competition between the two when they should have told the other they were in love with them. They argued like a real couple, not some second rate cardboard couple mingling around on the page. There was tension, love, and hatred between them.

I truly enjoyed the suspenseful part where someone kept sending threatening messages to Trevor’s office and Kate’s home before upping the damage by actually spilling mercury all over the conference room. Even though someone wanted to ruin his life, someone wanted to ruin his reputation and his career as a doctor.

I liked the book, but I wouldn’t call it one of my favorites. Trevor goes away for two years and keeps the reason hidden from Kate until about two-thirds of the way through the book. It annoyed me. Once I found out why, I wondered why he kept it hidden for so long. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Trevor was just being cautious, but it annoyed me. Plus, the book is hard to get into. The first 100 pages just drags on and on. Usually I can finish a book in about two days, this book took me about a week to read because I kept wanting to do other things than read the book.

Maybe you’ll like the book better than I did. I hope you did. I have read another book, The Lady of Bolton Hill, by Elizabeth Camden, and I loved that book so don’t put off her writing all together. She has four other books to try.

I received a complimentary copy from Bethany House and all opinions are my own. 

I will give someone a copy of With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden. If you would like to be entered in the drawing, please leave a comment about any of my previous posts or this one at the bottom of this blog by Monday, September 8th at midnight along with your email address. I will notify the winner through email within a couple of days. Thank you and good luck!